Rehashed plans for more than 100 homes on village farmland have emerged – despite the previous attempt being snubbed and branded “out of character”.
A renewed bid to build 125 homes on a plot of farming land adjoining High Knocke Farm in Dymchurch has been launched.
It comes less than a year after a similar 132-house scheme was refused planning permission, a decision which developers are continuing to appeal against.
Critics blasted the previous project on the 15.5-acre plot – which has been farmed for 30 years – as “catastrophic”, citing issues with the environment and strain on infrastructure.
But in papers submitted to Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) as part of the updated plans, developers Redbridge Estates said it had taken steps to alleviate concerns.
Bosses at the firm said: “The proposed indicative layout has several character areas separated by belts and areas of landscape reducing and minimising the scale and impact of the development as a whole.
“While the council’s housing land supply position remains marginal and delivery continues to fall short with delays to Otterpool Park it is necessary to ensure a robust supply of new homes on a range of suitable sites are granted across the borough [sic].
“The dwelling numbers have been reduced from 132 down to 125. Although a modest number, the removal of those units has had maximum impact allowing the scheme to be opened up with large vista perforations further separating groups of dwellings.
“We acknowledge that there are sensitive matters to be balanced. However, the revised proposals are well-informed and we firmly consider that the numerous identified public benefits of the latest proposals outweigh any limited perceived degree of harm.”
If all goes to plan, 15 two-bedroom apartments would be available along with 22 two-bedroom houses, 48 three-bedroom and 40 four-bedroom properties.
Twenty-eight would be classed as affordable – equating to 22.4% of the estate but compliant with FHDC planning policy stating a minimum of 22% of homes should be classed as affordable.
The bid is only an outline application - meaning specific details like layout, landscaping and designs will be dealt with later on.
With a population of 3,750, Dymchurch could be set to see another 668 people move in if Redbridge’s forecast models for the estate are correct.
The site is about 400 metres from the centre of the village itself.
Redbridge first submitted plans for the 132-home development in December 2021 – on the plot owned by East Stour Developments – which was greeted with more than 100 objections.
Despite council officers recommending it be approved, the planning committee threw out the scheme in June last year after deeming the original proposal to be “unacceptably harmful to the visual amenity of the area”.
The committee added: “The location of [the] development proposed lying outside the established settlement edge together with its scale would have a significant adverse urbanising impact on the open countryside, out of character with, and eroding the sense of openness that characterises the area.”
Planning agents for Redbridge Estates say the decision has since been appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and remains ongoing.
But it added the applicant wants to “further engage with the local planning authority and members in order to secure a positive determination at a local level”.
Commenting on the application, neighbours Mr and Mrs Eden, who live in the nearby Fairways Estate opposite the site, said the homes would “be a blot on the landscape of Dymchurch”.
They also argued the works would create the “destruction of wildlife habitat” which “the locals and our tourists alike treasure”, and expressed fears of congestion and further strain on GPs.
Council papers show others complained the estate would strip the coastal village’s identity.
“We wholly believe this will be a catastrophic decision if this application is approved,” wrote Mr and Mrs Newman.
“We are in danger of losing Dymchurch.
“People have visited the village for many years, for all the quaintness the village offers.
“If this development goes ahead, we will lose our identity and the visitors will stop.”
